Juneau police arrest tour boat captain for DUI

ANCHORAGE — A tip from a crew member led to the arrest of a tour boat captain for driving under the influence, authorities said Wednesday.

Lawrence O. Dupler, 67, was arrested by police after the U.S. Coast Guard took control of the tour boat outside Auke Bay near Juneau, Coast Guard Petty Officer Diana Honings said.

The Coast Guard boarded the vessel after receiving the tip, she said.

“They did a field sobriety test, and there were some issues and took the vessel in tow back to shore,” Honings said.

Dupler was arrested after failing the field test. He later provided a breath sample, which registered a 0.115 blood-alcohol content, police said in a release. The legal limit for boating is 0.08.

Dupler was taken to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau and was being held on $1,500 bail. Online court records didn’t list any charges or an attorney for Dupler.

There were no reported injuries during the late-morning incident, Honings said. There were 13 passengers and two other crew members aboard the 52-foot tour boat.

Juneau police Sgt. Chris Gifford declined to name the tour boat company, but Honings said it belonged to Orca Enterprises of Juneau. The name of the vessel involved wasn’t immediately known.

A woman who answered the phone at Orca Enterprises on Wednesday afternoon and refused to identify herself said she wasn’t authorized to comment on the situation and declined to put a reporter in touch with someone who could comment.